Making sense of art and design industries

By ByhroH

The other day I stumbled upon an article in the news, the article was about a Norwegian man named Petter Stordalen, yeah you might have heard about him since he is one of the wealthiest men in Norway. In the article Stordalen tells that over the past years he bought art for around 400 million NOK. He claims that he has no knowledge about art but has an interest in it, therefor he hired a man who provides him with important knowledge.

Art is interpreted differently from one person to another, what you like or see in the art may not be seen by anyone else. So, who can define what art is today? Hans Abbing who wrote the book “why are artists poor” says that Art is what people call art.

People associate art with wealth, museums, hotels and other attractions and in this article, it is clear that Stordalen has spent a lot of money on art not only for himself but for his hotels. What draws attention to the article is the amount of money spent on the art of this well-known man. What kind of art and artists does he have in the collection?

On average art consumers are part of a social group that has relatively more economic capital and income at its disposal and thus has more purchasing or economic power.

Stordalen is a part of that group because his economic capital consists of money and assets like real estate that can quickly be converted into cash.

We associate and compare ourselves with others, we are curious about what others have and how can we get the same thing. The same goes for art, which artists have painted the pictures that are hanging on the walls of Norway´s finest hotels?

Are there only known artists or is it also some upcoming new artists?

I believe people are wondering if the art he purchased reveals aspects of outsider art or “art brut”. Is the artwork as so-called contemporary or avant-garde?

Which basically means has the artists achieved a strong brand or is the art more likely to be aligned with non-profit sectors and a small number of exclusive galleries.

I guess the only way we can get an answer to these questions is by visiting some of the hotels and check out the art. Or we can use our imagination and try to figure out what kind of art is interesting for someone who can buy pretty much anything.